Car-unloader.



w. E. HUNT.-

CAR UNLOADER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.20. 1916.

Patented May 14, 12H8.

5 SHEETSSHEET i.

W. E. HUNT.

CAR UNLOADER.

A APPLICATION FILED DEC.20. lgli 26,4' Patented May 14, 19H5.

5 -SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W. E. HUNT.`

CAR UNLOADEH.

APPLICAHON FILED nEc.2o. :916.

ESSA-7% Patented May M, w18.

5 SHEEIS-SHEET 3.

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CAR UNLOADER.

APPLICATION man mazo. 1916.

Patented May 14, 1918.

5 SHEETS- SHEET 4.

,W e U, M .w me

W. E. HUNT.

v CAR UNLQADER.

APPLICATION FILED yDEC-20| I9I6 Lm, mmm May 14, 1918.,

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

OF OTTUM'WA, IOWAQA. CORPORATION OF QWA.

CAR-UNLODEB.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. May Mc, i918@ Application filed December 20, 1916. Serial No. l).

To all ur/mm if 11u/ 1j concern.'

`Be it ltnown that. l, VILLIAM E. HUNT, a citizen of the United States, residing at ttumwa; in the county of lVapello and State ot' iowa. have invented new and useful improven'ients in (,a1'-llnltn 1ders, of which the following is a specification,

This invention relates to an improvement in boxcar unloaders of that general type wherein the supporting means for the car provides for independent tiltingrv moyements of the car about transverse and longitudinal axes. and such movements of the car are effected in connection with the unloading thereof to promote speed and thoroughness.

The objects of the present invention, brieliy stated, are to provide a car unloader of the type referred to which shall be adapted to the standard car loader construction shown in my prior rPatent No. 895,(l89, and. therefore, capable ofuse, as the occasion may require, as a loader embodying all* the advantages of my patented construction;

which shall be quickly and easily operated and positively controlled, its operation re quiring comparatively slight power; and 1n which the car, in connection with its transverse tilting movement, is tiltable through an are of substantial length having a relatively long radius without impairing the compendiousncssof the` unloader structure but securing the two-fold advantage of greater quickness and thoroughness m unloading and of the most efficient control of the disosition of the unloaded material.

lV ith the above objects in view, the invention consists in certain features of structure and combination which will appear more in detail as the description proceeds.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure l is a-side elevation of an unloader in which the features of the invention are incorporated Fig. 2 is a central cross-sectional-view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view thereof;

Fig. et is a detail side elevation, partly in section, to a somewhat larger scale than, Fig. l, showing the car as tilted about a transverse axis;

Fig. 5'is a detail cross-sectional view, to a somewhat larger scale than Fig. 2, showing the car as tilted about a longitudinal axis;

Fig. 6 is a detail side elevation of-one of the curved bearers which participatesfin the operation oftransversely tilting the car; and Figs. 7 and 8 are views showing details of the bearers shown in Fig. 6.

Similar' characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The present construction embodies the structural features shown in my Patent No.

895,089 of August 4, 1908 but entails some1 re,-arrangement or re-adjustment of these features in consideration of the fact that the car-carrying platform or car-carrier, as it will hereafter be termed for convenience, is tilt-able transversely relatively to the unloader frame by which it is supported and which, in turn, is tiltable longitudinally.

The unloader frame is arranged within a well l and includes a pair of beams 2 sup- Jorting a platform 3. The unloader frame also includes at the sides thereof a pair of segments s which are connected to the platform and are suitably braced to the beams E2. For the support of the unloader frame a base 5 is provided; and the segments 4 rotate on idle rollers 6 whose trunnions have their bearings in uprights 7 mounted on the base 5.

The unloader frame is tiltable about a transverse axis and its tilt-ing movements are' l'ected ,by connections froi'n a transverse shaft 8 journalcd in suitable bearings in the base The shaft 8 carries near each end thereof sprocket wheels S); and the operative connections between said shaft and the Lu1- loader frame comprise chains 10 which are secured at points on the peripherics of the segments 1l son'iewliat near the ends of said segments and, following or lying against the peripheries of the segments, are trained over idler sprockets ll-sui'iported by the base 5 and over the sprockets E). ()bviously, by rotating the shaft 8 in either'direction, a tilting movement of the unloader frame about a transverse and in a corresponding direction will be produced. The shaft 8 is driven by a suitable reducing gearingr 12 from a motor shaft, preferably the shaft of an electric motor 13, which is supported ,on a suitable base arranged Within the skeleton structure of the base 5; and the rotation of. the shaft 8 is at all times under the control of the operator by means of a brake band 14 vcoopera-ting with a drum 15 on said shaft l appurtenances thereof shown in my said and operated, in the 'usual manner, by a lever which is connectedby a link 16 to the rod of a piston (not shown) which operates in a cylinder 17. Steam, air, or any other fluid agent/ may be employed to operate the piston in the cylinder 17. v

At the ends of the well 1 upright levers 18 may be provided to engage the ends of tire unloader frame at the under side thereof for the purpose of providing a suitable support for said frame when it is in a normal position, as shown in Fig. 1. The levers 18 may be operated by any suitable connections from a hand lever or equivalent device for the purpose of disengaging the ends of the frame and permitting the operation of the un-v loader.

Except as in the construction shown in my said Patent No. 895,089, the rails for the car were carried by the tiltable frame, the construction thus far described is substantially similar to my patented construction.

The present car unloader vvincludes end bumpersr or grabbers which, togethervwith their operating appurtenances, are .substantially similar in their construction and op' eration to the endbumpers and operating Patent No. 895,089. According to the present invention, however, the rails for the car and the operating appurtenances for the end bumpers or gi'abbers are not directly associated with the' frame which is tiltable about a transverse axis, but are directly associated with a car-carrierwhich is supported by the said frame and is tiltable yabout a longitudinal axis. W

The car-carrier comprises a bed 19 which carries at its sides longitudinal beams 20 and which supports other 'longitudinal beams 21 arranged between the beams 20 and in somewhat close association to one another.` The beams 20 support the rails 22 upon which the wheels of the car engage in the usual manner. The end bumpers are, as stated, of the construction disclosed in my said Patent No. 895,089 and, therefore, require no detail description. It may be noted, however, that the Vend bumpers which are designated generally by the numeral 23 are normally arranged in end extensions 24 of the well 1 and have cupped engaging elements 25 which fit over and on all sides partly inclose the couplers at the ends of the car whereby to provide lateral support for the car in connection with the transverse tilting thereof. I

The end bumpers operate in a longitudinal slotl 26 in the upper platform of the carcarrier and the beams 21, which are preferably of I cross-section, are, like the beams A8 shown in my said Patent No. 895,089, util- Lasarte below an operating pinion 29 on a transverse shaft 30. The shaft 30 is located at the transverse center of the unloader and certain bumpers or grabbers in a manner described at length in ,my said Patent No. 895,089.

Asv above stated, the car-'carrier issupported by the unloader frame and is tiltable .transversely, e., about a longitudinal axis,

relatively to said frame. For these pur,- poses, the' `unloader frame is provided at appropriate intervals with a number of transverse rails or saddle bars 33 whichare iXed to or made rigid with said frame; and the car-carrier is provided along its` under .side with a number o'f similarlyconstructed vbearers 34 provided with appropriately arranged rollers 35 which engage on the rails or saddle bars 33. rI`he saddle bars 33 are curved through an are of half e circle and are.arranged in arch fashion on the unloader frame, that is to say, their convex sides are-presented upward and their con- 'cave sides are presented downward. Thel bearers 34 have a curvature whlch conforms to the curvature of the rails or saddle bars 33 but extend through an arc which is somewhat less than half a circle whereby said bearers may be moved along the peripheries or outer circumferential faces of said rails v or saddle bars within certain lixed limits.

Normally, and as is shown in Fig. 2; the

lends of the bearers at one side of the-unloader will engage bars or parts of the unloader frame as stops, whereby the carcarrier will be supportedl ina horizontal plane or in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal vertical plane of the unlouder as a whole. A

The bearers 34 may be operated by any suitable-mechanism to effect transverse tilting movements of the car-carrier. Preferably, however, said bearers areoperated lby the mechanism disclosed which includes a rack 36 formed with-each bearer, a pinion 37 Vengaging'r said rack, and a longitudinal shaft 38 carrying the pinions 37. As shown, the shaft 38 is driven by bevel and worm reduction gearing 39-40 from the shaft of an` apodera versible motor or the connections between .its shaft. and the shaft 38 may include suitable reversing gearing. In' any event, the shaft 38 may berotated, at will, in either direction, to effect movements of the bearers in a corresponding -direction in planes transverse to the unloader.` It will be obvious that these movements of the bearers 34: in transverse planes will be produced by the rotation of the shat 38 inconsequence of the engagement of the pinions 37 with the racks 36 and that the movements of said bearers in either direction will be limited by the engagement of their ends against parte of the unloader frame.

virtue of the arch form ot the* rails or saddle bars 33, the axis of tilting movement of the car in a transverse plane is located at a substantial distance" below the car-carrier and at a very considerable distance below the floor of the car. It follows that the car may move throu h a relatively long arc without impairing t e compendiousness of the unloader organization and that its transverse tilting movement may be -eil'ected with a certain measure of speed which promotes the discharge of its contents. By virtue of the features of organization described, thel point of discharge may, as best 'shown in l? ig. 5, be located substantially at one side oft or beyond the unloader structure whereby the material discharged may be initially delivered into a suitable adjustably mounted chute l2 by which the discharged material is guided or spouted into the boot 43 of the conveying apparatus usual or suitable for the particular kind of material being discharged. o

The bearers 34: may be of any desired detail construction butthey preferably consist each o'a pair of angle irons 44 (Figs. 6, 7 and 8) between which the rollers 35 operate and which are connected at appropriate intervals by bolts 45 provided with spacing sleeves or blocks 46. The bolts 45 may extend through the hubs or shafts of the rollers 35 and they may, by their arrangement in suitable close association, be utilized to provide the rack 36, as shown in liigs. 5, 6 and 7.

The operation of the unloader is under the control of a single operatorwvho occupies a stand or para et47 located at one side ci the machine (Fig. 2) wherein are the necesl sary controllers for the various electric mo tors which are preferably used as power agencies.

When as much material as possible has been discharged from the oar, the ear-ca`rrier is tilted into a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal vertical plane of the unloader and thereupon the unloader trarne is tilted about a transverse aXis to bring the 'car into a longitudinally tilted position wherein its ends are reversed. Thereupon, the cards again tilted transversely and the material is discharged from the opposite and now upper end of the car into the chute 42 until the discharge of material from the car has been completed. When the unloading operation has been' completed, thecar-carrier is rew turned to its normal plane relative to the unloader Yframe and the `unloader frame is 'and are co-planar with the xed rails 4.8 which adjoin the ends of the unloader frame and project over the well extensions 24e.

It is to be understood that the present disclosure is of what is now considered a preferred embodiment, but that certain minor changes within the legitimate scope of the appended claims may be resorted to without departing from the spirit'l or substance .of the invention; and, thereore, that no s eciic description herein contained is inten ed to impose any'restriction upon the scope of the claims not inherent in their languag or plain intent.

1. )In a car unloader, in combination, a frame tiltable in a longitudirnal` plane, a plurality of transversely arran ed rails cerried by said frame, said rails being of arched form and presenting their convex sides u2 ward, a car-carrier, and a plurality of trans verse bearers secured to said carrier and conformably fitting4 upon said rails' for transverse movement along the peripheries thereof.

:2. ln a car unloader, in combination a frame tiltable in a longitudinal planes a p urality of transversely arranged rails carried by said frame, said rails being of arched form and presenting their convex sides upward, a car-carrier, a plurality of transverse bearers secured to said carrier and conformably fitting upon said rails for transverse movement along the peripheries thereof, rollers carried by said bearers engaging said rails, racks formed with said bearers, and a longitudinal shaft at one side of said carrier y having pinions engagingsaid racks.

3. ln Ia. car unloader, in combination, a frame tilt-able 1n 'a longitudlnal plane, a p lurality of transversely arranged rails carried by said frame, said rails being of archedform and presenting their convex sides upward, a ear-carrier and a plurality of transverse bearers -secured to said carrier and conormably fitting upon said rails for transverse movement along the periplierles thereof, said 'bearers having less extent than said rails whereby the ends of said bearers may engage parts of the unloader frame adjacent the ends of saidv rails to limit the transverse tilting movements of said carrier.

4. ln a ear unloader,l in combination, a Well having end extensions, an unloader frame mounted in the well for tilting move= .nient in a longitudinal frame, end bumpers normally arranged in said extensions, a plurality of transversely arranged rails carried by said frame, said rails being of arched form and presentnfr their convex sides upward, a car-carrier aving a longitudinally slotted top platform, a plurality of transverse ybearers secured to `said carrier and conformably fitting upon said rails for transverse movement along the peripheries essere thereof, a pair of bars operating in the slot of said platform for withdrawing said end bumpers from 'said well extensions upon said carrier or projecting said end bumpers from said carrier into said 'Well extensions,

a motor mounted "upon said carrier, and

gearing operatively connecting said motor and said bars.

5. In a car unloader, in combination, a frame tiltable in a longitudinal plane, a car carrier, a plurality of transversely arrangedsupporting means for said .carrier mounted on said trame and transversely arranged parts carried by said carrier and having'.`

nesses: V

WILLAM E. HUNT.

Witnesses: j

VALTER L, Minn, PHILIP l). PHILLIPS. 

